FINDING EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEES is a constant struggle for business owners. Before
investing in a recruiter or search firm or
buying expensive advertising, employers
should try five simple techniques.

Assess your needs. Before you begin
the search for a new employee, analyze
the job. What measurable results and
accomplishments do you expect? Identify
the exact skills needed to get those results.
What are the personal attributes, attitudes
and qualities of the ideal candidate? Write
a job description that includes the results
expected of the position, the skills necessary
to achieve those results and the personality
traits required to fit in with the rest of the
team. List every task the candidate will
be expected to do. Include only what is
essential. Be sure that your expectations
are realistic: Can a single person do the job
you are hiring for?

Promote from within. As a recruiter,
I encourage my clients to look first within
their organizations to fill positions. Your
employees already know the culture of
your company, its goals and processes.
You may have the talent you need already.
Review employees’ original job applications
and résumés. Does that person in accounting also have an interest or background in
marketing or sales? Perhaps that administrative assistant has a talent for merchandising
or graphic design. Build loyalty among your
employees by promoting from within.

Incentivize employee referrals

Reward employees who refer job candidates.

When I was a manager at a games company,
we found many top people this way. People
tend to associate with others who are like
them, so if your top employees are productive, inventive and positive, their friends and
associates will probably have similar attributes. Reward staff members for success-

FRESHviews

Think before you
hire a recruiter

PAMELA KLEIBRINK:
HELP WITH HIRING

Pamela Kleibrink
Thompson is
a recruiter and
Costco member.
You can reach her at
pamrecruit@q.com.

RECOGNIZING disengagement is one
thing. Ross says, “The key for managers in
re-engaging employees is simple; it calls
for being proactive and connecting with
people.” Ross has developed a plan for
re-engagement called ALIVE, which calls
for a two-way dialogue between a manager and an employee designed to discover
what motivates and engages the employee, or, conversely, what is causing the
disengagement. It includes these five steps.

Ask to meet with the employee informally, to touch base somewhere free from
office distractions, to see how the employee
is doing.

Listen to what is being said, but alsoto what is left unspoken. Someone who isengaged willspeak up and sharefeedback, whileawkwardsilences andlooking down usu-ally indicate someonestruggling withdisengagement.Identify two orthree reaction steps you can commit todoing for the employee, based on whatwas seen and heard during the meeting.Take a few days to digestthe information from the meeting.Validate, with the employee, thoseDISENGAGEMENT may be somewhatexpected this time of year, with the dis-tractions caused by the holidays, butwhat about other times?

“Disengagement isn’t always something you can see right away, as many
people suffering through this might be
smiling on the outside while crying on the
inside,” observes Costco member Ruth K.

Ross (
ruthkross.com), author, speaker and
engagement evangelist, in her new book,
Coming Alive: The Journey to Reengage
Your Life and Career (Authority Publishing, 2014; not available at Costco).

She offers the following tips on how
to recognize signs of disengagement in
employees.

Increased absences or tardiness.

Employees show up when they want, not
when they are scheduled to be there.

“I don’t care” attitude.Employees
come in and do what is expected, but
don’t expend energy to make sure the
work is high quality.

Isolating themselves from others.

Isolation can be intentional, as when a dis-engaged employee chooses to opt out bysitting back in a group meeting and notparticipating in the discussion, avoidinghallway conversations or turning downan invitation to lunch with others.No creativity or input.Employeesstop being creative and innovative andaren’t open to trying new things, retreatingto the familiar and routine, while doingeverything they can to stay under the radar.Lethargic. You can usually tell whensomeone crosses over from engagementinto disengagement by focusing on theperson’s energy level. It’s as if their move-ments slow down and things seem tomove at a snail’s pace.Ross suggests, “For managers, themost important thing they can do to re-engage their employees is to simply con-nect with them. It’s not about slapping alabel on anyone as engaged or disengaged.It’s all about getting back to basics andhaving a ‘stay conversation’ that focuseson asking employees how things are going,listening both to what they say and whatthey are not saying.”leoh